Hestewah Confederacy
The Hestewah Confederacy (Etymology Here), commonly known as The Confederacy or just Hestewah, is a Confederate Parlimentary Constitutional Theocracy composed of 15 main Autonomous Regions (AR's) and several minor overseas territories. It is bordered by Canada in the North, and Mexico in the West. At nearly 950,000 square miles (2.5 million sq km2) in size, and with over 45 million people, it is the 22th largest country by land area, and the XXth largest country by population. It is the only remaining country in the Americas to survive European contact and colonization. The capitial of the nation is the city of Awamayi, with a population of 3.1 million, and with about 9.2 million people in total, being packed into 4 large, distinct metropolitan areas. (2 or 3 Historical Paragraphs) The Confederacy is a highly developed country, with one of the largest economies by GDP. It is considered to be a developed, first world country, with one of the highest average wages in the world, and the longest average lifespan in the world, thanks to the recently implemented "Sok'laCare" healthcare system. The Confederacy is a large cultural melting pot, with large global outreach in all aspects of entertainment and popular culture. Etymology (Insert Etymology Here) History Origin The Senoan people originally existed in the 10th century as 11 independent nomadic tribes, near the center of the American Continent. Sometime around the year 1100, a man, who is currently only identified as the "Unvathi" (God Of Warriors), united the 11 tribes into a loose union of tribes, thereby dubbed the "Hestewah Empire." Pre-Atahinian Dynastic Era For between up to half a century after the unification, The Empire existed as a mostly nomadic people, with hunters doubling as warriors, helping the nation grow in size rapidly. Eventually, by the mid-1200's the nation had grown to had grown to large to handle with a decentralized and localized government. A warrior whose name of Dustu from a town in the Northern part of the empire gathered a strong following, due to the deteriorating living conditions. He started leading a growing band of rebels across The Empire, and by the time it met resistance from the official government, his rebellion had stretched from The Great Lakes to the Misiziibi River. After many years of fighting, the government loyalists had been driven back close to the border with the Muscogee Nation. The loyalists started burning whole villages to the ground as they slowly retreated across what remained of their territory. These inhumane acts sparked outrage among the rebels and continued solidifying the support for the rebels. After over 10 years of fighting, the rebels finally won, and immediately began creating a series of governmental reforms. The empire began holding a more authoritarian grip over the people, taking more food and labour from the people than before, and centralizing the government. A grand pyramid was erected, near the shore of Lake Michigan to symbolize the power of the government, and the new crowned emperor. After his death in the early 1300's he son became the emperor of the nation. Atahinian Dynastic Era After over a century of subjugation, the grandson of the first emperor, Dustu, came to power, his name was Atahi. He began a process of reviving trade and commerce within the empire, he also created a elite group of scribes, called "The Adlqadi." It was their job to learn and discover new technologies, and bring them back to record them within the empire. Emperor Atahi began a long-lasting dynasty, under which the empire flourished. Columbian Era in 1492, Christopher Columbus discovered The Americas, for several decades following this event, the Hestan Empire coexisted peacefully with the Europeans that arrive. But, after the Spanish and Portuguese carve-up of South America' and the quick conquest of the Aztecs and Mexico by the spaniards, in the 1560's, The Empire finally realized the Europeans intentions after smallpox epidemics, and interrogation of prisoners held by the Hestans. In the roughly 50 years afterwards, the nation began a unparalleled period of technological, societal, and industrial growth, so large that it is still uncontested to this day. During this period, they collected European technology, and learned about their manufacturing industry, and their metallurgy. The Empire created a standing army - The "Wgadnenith," and after obtaining European arqubuses and muskets, they reverse engineered them, and improved the technology, discovering rifled barrels, and developing breech-loading rifles, and metallic ammunition cartridges. They built new cities along the Misiziibi River, to utilize the water flow to power waterwheels, to power the assembly lines for the new rifles and cartridges, and paved roads to transport materials from the newly-built mines and lumber yards. "The Drive" After over 50 years of preparation, and riddled with old world diseases, in 1618, European colonies, such as New France, Newfoundland, Virginia, and The New Netherlands started expanding along the Modern Day-Eastern Seaboard, The Empire's "Chiefs of the Army", Generals being their modern day equivalent, realized that that would be their last chance to drive the European newcomers off the continent. They realized that if they waited any longer, the so many settlers would pour onto the continent, and penetrate so deep into the continent, that they would be impossible to dislodge. They started planning a massive offensive that would take place in the spring of 1619. After informing The Iroquois Confederacy of the Europeans plans to destroy the Indigenous population and annex their land, they became a military ally of The Senoans, forming the "Senoan-Iroquois Axis". St. Lawrence Campaign On May 22nd of 1619, hostilities broke out between the Axis and the French, as the Senoans and Iroquois charged down the St. Lawrence River. Armed with their more advanced breech-loaded rifles, they quickly stormed the Habitation De Quebec, and the La Place Royale fur trading post, sustaining less than a thousand casualties.. After 2 weeks, they reached the mouth of the St. Lawrence river, and considering their campaign complete, they turned their attention to The New Netherlands. New Netherlands Campaign As word spread of the quick conquest of New France, the residents of The New Netherlands began preparing to defend themselves. On the evening July 8th, The Wgadnenith set up camp several miles away from Fort Nassau, planning to quickly storm the fort. On the morning of July 10th, 500 men were sent out to approach the fort from it's South side, to distract the defenders, while the remainder of the army, over 2000 men, silently approached the fort from the North side and started taking potshots at the fort, and 50 men swiftly approached the fort and vaulted over the barricades, shooting the defenders, and liberating the fort. New Spain Campaign By the time the Axis troops arrived outside of the settlement of St. Augustine in Mid-October, The Spanish had mustered all available soldiers within Florida and Cuba to defend the settlement. The settlement was the last line of defense for Spanish-Controlled Florida. In the middle of the night on November 3rd 1619, the 2500 men of The Axis army quickly made their way through the settlement, clearing their way through each building, sometimes rolling barrels filled with gunpowder through fortified positions. Eventually, by the morning of the 4th of November, all soldiers and settlers were either dead, or had retreated out of the town. The Spanish sustained upwards of 5000 casualties during the battle, while the Axis sustained less than 800. Sporadic fighting continued throughout the peninsula, for the next 5 months, all the way into March, until The Treaty of Adnlv, where the Europeans would remove their settlers from the occupied territories, and respect the sovereignty of The Hestewah Empire, and The Iroquois Confederacy for 25 years. Unification In 1622 demonstrations were held in the capital of the Senoan Empire, the city of Galivadda. The organizers of the demonstration demanded a referendum be held to integrate the Iroquois Confederacy into the Senoan Empire to project The Empire's military power into the Canadian region, for when the Europeans would inevitibly attempt to reconquer them when the treaty expired. After several days of conferring with the Chiefs of the Iroquois Grand Council on how the nation would be run, and how it would be benificial, they decided to hold the referendum. In March, the referendum was held, with the votes to create The Confederacy being above 60% in both the Iroquois and Senoan referendums. In late April 1622, The "Galivadda Agreement" was signed, and was to be put into effect on March 1st. The evening before it was to be put into effect, the Constitution of The Confederacy was signed, implementing the laws and rights of the unborn nation into effect across the former lands of The Iroquois Confederacy and the Senoan Empire. Expansion One of the first decisions that was made by the council was the deciding the nation's foreign policy. Geography, Climate, and Environment (Insert Geography, Climate, and Environment) Demographics (Insert Demographics) Government and Politics The Hestewah Confederacy is one of only two existing confederacies in the world, with the other being the Swiss Confederation. It is a Confederate Parliamentary Constitutional Theocracy, in which the power is split up among the different AR's, through a System of Councilors and Members of Parliament. To ensure that no one AR is able to obtain complete control of the national government, a web of checks and balances are written into The Constitution of The Confederacy. As of 2016, the country ranks 2nd in the Democracy Index, and 3rd on the Corruption Perceptions Index. Every 5 years an election is held to determine who is appointed to The High Council and who is elected to The National and Regional Parliaments.The Government of The Confederacy is divided among several different administrative levels. National High Council The High Council of The Confederacy is a group of representatives, each the head of the leading political party in every one of the 15 Autonomous Regions that The Confederacy is composed of. At the beginning of each Councillors 5-year terms, it is the job of the Councillors to appoint the members of their individual cabinets. In The Confederacy's system, The Councillors have the power to start the process of creating national resolutions, and present the national parliament with facts and arguments to create a resolution from. National Parliament The National Parliament is composed of 76 Members of Parliament (MP's) their job within the government is to decide on whether or not to complete or cancel the resolution, and to continue to fill in details of the resolution such as setting targets, and will discuss and suggest ways on which the AR's will participate in the resolution, and reach the set goals. Regional Regional Parliament The Regional Parliament size is determined by the population of the AR, with one Member of The Regional Parliament (MRP), being added for every denomination of 100,000 people. The job of the regional parliament is to work out the specifics of how their AR will carry out the resolution, and how it will meet it's decided goals. They also make decisions on how to improve their AR and how to benefit it's people. Foreign Relations (Foreign Relations Here) Government Finance (Government Finance here) Military The Confederacy maintains one of the highest military budgets of any country in the world, spending about 2% of it's GDP on defense, or about 167.3 billion Danadas. The country's military (the Confederate Self-Defense Force, or CSDF) is also the most technologically advanced in the world, and is also the 4th largest, just behind the UK's. The Confederacy is the highest ranked country in The Americas in the Global Peace Index. The Military is run by the Ministry of Defense, and consists of the Confederate Defensive Army, Confederate Defensive Navy, and the Confederate Defensive Air Force. The Military of The Confederacy is a regular participant of the EUAEX (Eurasia Exercise), and exports large amounts of advanced military equipment to its allies within PATO (Pan Atlantic Treaty Organization). The 21st Century is experiencing a rapid shift in the balance of power in the world, along with globalization. The security environment around the world is becoming increasingly severe, with Russia and China conducting military patrols and exercises and patrols on the border with the and The Baltic States, Ukraine, and in the South China Sea. Newer threats such as North Korea, Iran, International Terrorism, and Cyberterrorism, threaten the safety and well-being of the international populace. The Confederacy is currently strengthening ties with PATO members and PAD Pact Members (Pan Asian Defense), in an attempt to maintain peace throughout these regions. As of recently, the security policy of The Confederacy has changed, and now, the CDN and the CDAF continually patrol the South China Sea, and and the Ukrainian and Russian border regions. The Confederacy maintains close military and economic ties with the UK and France, and has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since 1946. In March 2017, the Commander-In-Chief of The Confederacy, Acechita Edsala, said The Confederacy wanted to increase it's power on the world stage, for the 1st time since the Second World War, to defend it's allies, friends, and national interests from the expansionism of Russia and China. In spite of this bold statement, the Commander-In-Chief has received lots of backlash from the public. As one critic stated, "We only have to see how the situation develops". Law Enforcement and Crime Law Enforcement in The Confederacy is the primary responsibility of the local police force, with provincial police providing broader services. National agencies such as the National Investigation Service, and the Confederate Rangers have the duty of upholding civil rights, protecting national securities, and the law. Provincial Courts can conduct most criminal trials, while National Courts can handle designated crimes, as well as certain appeals from the provincial courts. In 2015 there were 2,564 murders which was 32 less than in 2014, continuing the downwards trend in homicide that began in 2009. The murder rate in 2015 was 1.8 per 100,000 people. The Confederacy has had a below-average rate of violent crime and gun violence since stealing the title from Switzerland in 2007. Statistical data from between the years of 1975 and 2016 shows that 63% of all homicide victims are male, and 88% of offenders. The Hestan AR (Autonomous Region) has the highest rate of murders and other violent crimes and the Cherokee AR the lowest. Economy The Confederation's economy is a Government-Controlled Captialist Mixed Economy, which is fueled by abundant resources, and large-scale industry. (Rest of paragraph is GDP) (Paragraph about GDP) The Confederacy is a light importer of luxury goods and electronics, while it exports large amounts of "New World" foods (Corn, Squash, etc.), and clothing materials such as cotton, wool, and furs. The 5 biggest trading partners of The Confederacy are Canada, Mexico, France, Spain, and The UK. In 2014, the big gest national import were ECU's manufactured by the Wapasha Automobile Company, while the country's largest export was corn. The largest holder of Confederate debt is France, with over 50% percent of the national debt, totaling over $400 billion UK dollars. In 2011 the private sector was estimated to constitute 79.1% of the economy, with government activity accounting for 8.2%, with regional and local activities making up the last 12.7%. While the nation has reached a developed, industrial economy, it still requires money from agricultural exports. Automobiles and Green Energy are tied for the leading manufacturing field in the country. The Confederacy is the number one producer of corn and automobiles in the world. The agricultural industry comprises more than 20% of the national GDP, even though the nation has a strong manufacturing industry, it is still reliant on agriculture. The Agricultural Department Statistics Service has details on livestock and plant products that include, but are not limited to: peanuts, squash, corn, grain, barley, eggplants, pigs, cows, buffalo, etc. The country strongly disapproves of Genetically Modified Foods (GMO's) because they are "unnatural, artificial, and bad for the environment." The Confederacy's workforce, as of 2012 consists of 113.33 million people. 30.12 million farmers currently work in the agricultural workforce, making it the leading field of employment, with the manufacturing industry coming in a close second, at 13.56 million employed people. The Global Recession Of 2010 has pulled the economy into a slight downturn, with the statistics showing lower agricultural and industrial production pre-depression than post-depression. Consequently, tax raises and budget cuts have been implemented, which has given the current government some backlash. Infrastructure Transportation Personal transportation is dominated by the automobile, which operates on a interconnected web of over 1.5 million miles (2.4 million km) of public roads, including the world's longest bridge, the "Haas Hi Bridge," is over 24 miles (36 kilometers) long. The nation has the most efficient automobiles in the world, with an national average of 63.3 mpg (3.71L/100km). The average citizen spends about 84 minutes in their car, and drives between 18 - 37 miles (29 - 60 km) to work. Mass Transit comprises 31.1% of all work trips. Transport of goods by rail is extensive, while passenger rail travel is limited to the Great Lakes region, and the area surrounding the Awamayi region, with relatively low usage compared to other countries, getting only 3.3 million passengers every year. The airline industry is currently undergoing a power struggle between the private airline industry and the government owned airlines for dominance of flight schedules and routes. The main government-owned airlines called "Confederate Skyways" is currently falling behind the other privately owned airline companies due to is outdated fleet of aircraft. Energy The Confederacies energy market is about 2,100 terrawatt hours per year. The energy consumption per capita is 0.8 tons (724 kg) of oil equivalent per year. In 2015, this power came from 40% Hydroelectricity, 28% Solar Power, 17% Natural Gas, 8% Petroleum and 5% Wind Power, with the last 2% coming from various sources. The people of The Confederation strongly disapprove of nuclear power, due to the large amounts of toxic nuclear waste that is produced, and the liability of for accidents to occur, which strongly damage the ecosystem in the vicinity of the accident. Water Supply and Sanitation Issues that concern the government about water supply, are the rapid desertification of the western part of the country, and the increasingly aggressive European attempts to gain control of the countries water reserves, due to the ongoing drought in the Mediterranean region. Sanitation problems have arisen recently when the Awamayi sewer system broke, and leaked into the Mayi River delta in March of 2015, and massive cleanup relief efforts have been attempting to clean up the river seabed ever since. Education The Confederacy's public education is funded by government sources through national grants, and operated by private sector teachers and tutors. In all AR's the ''absolute ''minimum age that children are required to attend school at is 8 years old, with a minimum age of 5 in the Hestan AR. Until they are at least 14, with again, a maximum age of 18 in the Hestan AR. About 19.7% of children are enrolled in private schools that are not funded by the government, and another 8.3% of children are homeschooled. The Confederacy spends more money on each student's education, than any other nation in the world, with $14,000 spent on each elementary student, and $16,000 spent on each high school student. Around 62% of high school students in The Confederacy go on to attend collage. Some of the world's most prestigious Universities are located within The Confederacy, such as Awamayi University, (XXXXX) University, and The University Of (XXXXX). These Universities are very prestigious because they pioneer in a very different approach to learning, which is apparently shown, because 91.1% of students recieve a bachelor's degree and least 2 degrees in separate subjects. Currently there is $867 billion in student debt, more than quadruple the national GDP of Algeria. Culture (Insert Culture) Science and Technology (Insert Culture) Health The current life expectancy inside of the Confederacy is 85.9 years of age, up from 82.3 in 1997.